...and not in a good way. See the earlier post on my tale of woe here.
My story only gets worse. I went through all that heartache--months of trying to enroll in a health insurance plan through Covered California--only to be told, when my kid got sick and I called to get my subscriber number, that I haven't paid for my health insurance. DESPITE THE FACT THAT BLUE SHIELD HAS CASHED MY CHECK. They can't find it. They can't find it! We are two weeks in to another ridiculous hellhole of calling and emailing and getting nowhere. In desperation I took to my long-unused Twitter account to see if I could get their attention. It sort of worked (both Covered CA and Blue Shield responded) but I still have no resolution and they are threatening to terminate my coverage and make me start all over again, which would mean I have now gone two full months without health insurance for my family.
By the way, if I pay over the phone, they say it would still take me two weeks to get membership information and go to the doctor. So if my kids are sick, I am screwed either way. I am going to have to pay out of pocket. Even though I have paid for medical insurance.
I have sent a copy of the endorsed, deposited check, as well as a copy of my bank statement showing that it has been cashed, to the Blue Shield Customer Service department. I have absolutely no faith that they will credit me my hard-earned money or acknowledge that they received it, despite this evidence. They have gone suspiciously silent, one of those "don't call us, we'll call you" dealios. It takes 15-20 minutes to get a live human being on the phone every time I call. Have I mentioned that I work? That I have a husband and a family, and a life? That I can't spend hours every week on hold??
I am going to file a formal complaint with the California Department of Insurance. And I am going to get back on the phone, this time to Kaiser, to see if I can get any kind of HMO coverage at this late date. And I'm applying for a new job elsewhere, first because I want to move on, but second because I need some benefits some kind of way and changing jobs may be the only way to get them.
I would really like to just go lie down somewhere.
3 comments:
I'm so sorry to read this, Lisa. I hope that it's resolved since I'm reading this post late... If you don't get sick on your own, you surely will dealing with the stress of the situation. GAH! :(
Thanks, Bridget. Well, we basically spent two months without health insurance. I now actually have a membership ID# so if one of us gets sick or in an accident, I will offer that up as proof. Of course, I still have no membership card and I have received a bill for my May premium, even though I paid in April and still had no insurance all month. I am trying to get them to credit me for May now. Needless to say, the second I can get insurance some other way, I will.
Sending you love and light that this gets fixed once and for all, Lisa! Hang tough!
Post a Comment